The Nissan Frontier Pro Is A Plug-In Hybrid Pickup You Can’t Buy In The USA … Yet

The Nissan Frontier is finally getting a major makeover. Nissan has revealed an all-new Frontier Pro plug-in hybrid pickup at the Shanghai auto show.

The midsize Frontier sold in the U.S. was updated for 2025, but uses a chassis with two-decade old roots and its only engine offering is a 3.8-liter V6. However, it still sells well as a value proposition to customers looking for a straightforward affordable pickup.

A NEW FRONTIER

The Frontier Pro is a much more modern vehicle that’s still uses body on frame construction, but features a fully independent suspension and a powertrain that combines a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with an electric motor mounted between it and the transmission.

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PLUG-IN POWER

Nissan says it can crank more than 402 horsepower and 590 lb-ft through a standard all-wheel-drive system. The Frontier Pro has a China-rated 84 miles of all-electric range before needing to use the gas motor. That would likely be closer to 60 miles on the U.S. EPA testing cycle.

INSPIRED STYLING

The Frontier’s exterior design draws inspiration from the 1980s Nissan Hardbody with a stylized take on its egg crate grill and three air intakes below the hood, which have been reimagined as rectangular lights.

TOUCH A TRUCK

The interior has dual tablet-style displays for the instrument cluster and touchscreen infotainment system, which has a row of tactile buttons below it. The transmission selector is a console-mounted shift lever. The Frontier Pro is still a midsize model, but is larger than today’s Frontier with a roomier cabin and available heated, ventilated and massaging front seats.

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FORBIDDEN FRUIT … FOR NOW

The Frontier Pro will be built and sold in China starting later this year with exports to follow, but likely not to the United States. Even without the new import tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, pickup trucks built outside of North America are subject to a 25% levy under the old “Chicken Tax” which is why all of the mainstream models are manufactured locally, including the Mississippi-built Frontier. However, a Nissan executive recently told MotorTrend that a hybrid Frontier is likely to be launched in the U.S. in a few years.